Sunday, November 5, 2017

Debt-Free Lessons....

I recently wrote out a check to pay off my car, the last
consumer debt, including my home, that I owed. Being debt-free is incredibly
invigorating, and I can now look forward to my prime wealth building years that
lie ahead. A friend asked me to outline some of the lessons I learned
along the way, so here are just a few of them….

Burn
the Ships: When the Spanish Captain, Hernan Cortez, landed
in Veracruz, he knew that some of his crew were scared due to rumors of the
viciousness of the local ‘savages,’ so he had his men burn the ships. This
ensured his team would either conquer or be destroyed, but the option of quitting
was now off the table. My wife and I burned our financial ships by putting all
but $1,000 of our savings towards debt January 1, 2017 and then conquered by also doing the following:

Be
a Team: You and your significant other is a partnership when it
comes to finances, and a house divided truly will fall when it comes to
monetary goals. You have to be on the same page. The best advice I heard before
approaching my wife about committing to getting out of debt in 2017 was
“Explain the WHY, not the WHAT or HOW.” Thanks, GW!

Budget/Plan: If you
fail to plan, you are essentially planning to fail. Use a budget plan to see
how you are spending your money, then work to reduce or eliminate as much excess
as you can. There is a free online budgeting tool called www.everydollar.com and several online sites (www.daveramsey.com and www.mrmoneymustache.com to name
a couple) that are incredibly helpful in reducing inessentials that can drain a
family’s bank account.

Give: We
started the year giving away only an average of 4-5% of our bring home pay,
while making minimum payments on all debts and spending the remainder. By October, we were averaging giving away 12% for the year to date. Somehow
we were able to pay 48.5% of our post-tax income to debt this calendar year and increase our
giving by 7+%. Is it coincidence that I somehow ‘found’ 56% more of my money to
put towards debt and giving? I don’t think so. The better steward you become of
God’s money, the more he gives you and the better you get at distributing it in a manner in line with HIS will.

Educate
Yourself: If you want to be successful, there is likely already a
blueprint out there if you’ll just look for it. I read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, which sparked this
journey, but I then read half a dozen other books on personal finance along the
way that also helped.

Side
Hustle: There are a lot of easy ways to make money in the world.
Refer to www.sidehustlenation.com
for some clever ideas to increase your income and have more money to throw at
debt. Or, just grab your lawnmower and walk over to that yard in your
neighborhood that seems to always need to be cut and offer a good deal.

These are but a few of the lessons I learned the past 10+
months on this journey. I’ll detail more tips in the future if you’re
interested.